The helmet was improved using a transparency image to hide the bottom of the model (leaving the curved shape of the ear guard) and to cut out the air holes. I used Project Dogwaffle to make a TGA with an alpha channel for this.

Then a curvy map was painted to add the small surface shapes and rim.

The face guard is just several drawn lines. The plastic clips on the guard are extruded images (Curvy 2.0 only).

The best bit about modelling using images rather than meshes is ease of modification. Once I had made the helmet I realised I needed to move the ear guard forward a couple of inches. All I needed to do was tweak my image maps (happily saved as easy to change vector art layers in my paint program) and it was fixed.

Last edited by Simon on Fri Jan 01, 2010 10:13 am, edited 1 time in total.

Bottom line.... the tutorials for Curvy3D SUCK... sorry to be blunt but I am very disappointed with the lack of co-operation regarding this piece of software...

You guys could learn alot about tutorials... Surf to DAZ and see some of the excellent Hexagon tutorials by EZ or go to Geekaplay and view some of Gary Miler's outstanding video tutorials on Hexagon...

I'm not disappointed in my purchase of Curvy3D BUT tutorials and how-to docs sure are lacking...

It is pointless (IMHO) to post a tutorial or how-to without audio or text... Especially when you are a Curvy3D newbie and trying to learn the software..

Well...that's the problem. Without audio or text I find it difficult to follow the tutorials here...And it appears some of them maybe for an older version of Curvy3D?

I tried the helicopter tutorial and "Edit Lathe" doesn't appear how often I hit the space bar....

I've played with the demo and I like Curvy3D very much but now that I have the paid version I want to explore more of it's capabilities... However the tutorials here frustrate me to no end as they appear more aimed toward an experienced Curvy3D user which I am not....

I had much better luck following Z-Brush tutorials when I was demoing Z-Brush....

Sorry Simon, but I was only being honest... I've been playing with Curvy3D since the review of Curvy in ImagineFX...

Your software is a breath of fresh air but I'm not tapping into it's capabilities as Curvy is so different then Wings3D, Hexagon or Cinema4D...

I just recently purchased 3DCoat and I am very impressed with it as well... I'm thinking that Curvy3D will be a nice addition to my ever increasing arsenal of tools (Paint Shop Pro, Painter, Bryce, Vue Pro Studio, Wings3D, Hexagon 3D, Cinema4D, PD Particles, 3D Coat)... So when I got e-mail from TheBest3D offering it at1/2 price I jumped for it....

I was debating about purchasing Z-Brush as I really enjoyed the trial I had of it...but couldn't justify the hefty price... Their tutorials are very easy to follow and there are plenty of them on the web....

I recently advised a fellow poster on ImagineFX forum that your software is on sale

I think this tutorial falls down a bit because it assumes knowledge from the viewer that frankly may not be there.
In the video we see a click on the base colour and magically the model changes even though the base colour remains white.

I think the curvy help file needs to explain a bit about alpha channels.
Explanations i think need to be adapted for the lowest common denominator and that is usually me. So alpha appears to be a mask type effect that can be stored in some image formats like tga (but not bmp ?). It can hide parts of the model but doesn't actually change the model. (So if we export the model the mesh is unchanged.)
Some paint programs will export what many users would see as the dotted selection areas as alpha channels and the selection area might have to be inverted to get the desired effect. (concept wise black becomes white)

curvy 1.5 you need to play around with the highlights to use alpha effectively .(highlights visible on alpha area)

sorry if this post sounds a little pedantic but so many applications can fail to get their deserved credit because there is a often a great technical gulf between developer and user.

For me curvy is such a great application that will do so many things easily.
It is a relief not to be playing with thousands of triangles (at least visually).
But new users are not led into it easily. They see these wonderful works in the gallery. (the elite ?) and the gulf between these and the introduction draw a few blobs is far to great.
What is missing is the in between practical use type of tutorial.
the "how do i do that" bit